Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette a finalist for NHL's Jack Adams Award
The NHL announced today that Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette is one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the league's coach of the year.
Brunette joins Vancouver's Rick Tocchet and Winnipeg's Rick Bowness as this year's Jack Adams finalists. The award is given annually "to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”
This is the second time Brunette has been a finalist for the Jack Adams. He was up for the award in 2022, when he took over as interim coach of the Florida Panthers after the team parted ways with Joel Quenneville. That year, Brunette led Florida to a 58-18-6 record and their first ever Presidents' Trophy.
This is the fourth time a Predators coach has been a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. Previous finalists include Peter Laviolette in 2015 and Barry Trotz in 2010 and 2011.
Brunette was hired by the Predators in May 2023, after the team decided to move on from John Hynes. Brunette played with Nashville in their inaugural season in 1998 and is most known for scoring the first goal in franchise history.
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In his first season in Nashville, Brunette led the Predators to a 47-30-5 record, good enough to qualify for the NHL playoffs. Prior to his arrival in Nashville, he was assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils in the 2022-23 season. He left for New Jersey after Florida opted to hire Paul Maurice for their open coaching job instead of promoting Brunette in the summer of 2022.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators' Andrew Brunette a finalist for Jack Adams Award
